January 15, 2002--
Despite feeling the effects of state budget cutbacks, University
of Virginia employees have recently contributed more than a half-million
dollars to help others.

To
date, U.Va. employees have given $555,527 through the 2002 Commonwealth
of Virginia Campaign, a charity fund drive held each fall for state
employees.

Tentative
figures for the 2002 campaign released by the Virginia CVC Office
in early January show that U.Va. employees led the state in giving.
Nearly 18 percent of the $3,071,011 raised statewide during the
campaign was contributed by U.Va. employees.

“I’ve
long believed that the University of Virginia’s strength lies
in the exceptional quality of faculty and staff. Not only are they
a dedicated and accomplished group of individuals, but an extremely
caring group as well,” President John T. Casteen III said
about the 2002 CVC total at U.Va.

State
employees had the option of earmarking their gifts, choosing from
a list of more than 1,000 non-profit agencies in the areas of health
and human services, medical research, environmental concerns and
animal welfare.

“We
were anticipating a 20-to-30 percent drop in contributions for this
year’s campaign because of several factors,” said Janet
Brooking, state campaign director for the CVC. “With the turmoil
associated with this year’s state budget crisis and questions
about the stewardship of national charities, U.Va.’s record-breaking
contributions show sincere support for the organizations supported
by the CVC.”

U.Va.
has been the No. 1 entity in CVC giving for the last 10 years, said
Dana Rivera, the University’s CVC administrator. “In
a year in which local economic woes and state budget cuts dominated
the headlines, U.Va. employees have demonstrated their concern and
commitment to the community with record highs in both community
service participation and workplace giving,” she said.

The
state CVC office has announced that U.Va will receive a Commonwealth
of Virginia Campaign Gold Award, which is given to agencies with
6,000 or more employees that achieve at least a 30 percent participation
rate with an average gift of $125 or more. This is the third time
the University has received this award.

“The
award recognizes employees’ generosity and concern for the
community,” said Ida Lee Wootten, interim director of community
relations and chair of the University’s 2002 Commonwealth
of Virginia Campaign. She will accept the award during a ceremony
in Richmond in February.